Hi all...
You may have seen on http://www.MidHudsonNews.com the story yesterday from Hank Gross:"Consultant Releases Draft Executive Summary of Dutchess Waste Management" (par for course, sadly, for several months now he has assiduously avoided quoting me or other Dems-- re: even events I've organized; see:
http://midhudsonnews.com/News/2011/April/19/DC_wasmtgmt_sum-18Apr11.html )...
More to point here tho-- I have a copy of so-called "April 13th Draft Executive Summary" from Mid-Atlantic Solid Waste Consultants-- and it ain't pretty, folks-- let me know if you'd like copy; I'll email it to you!...
[letters to editor needed asap on all this here, folks!...zip 'em out now-- asap-- 250-word missives on all this to letterstoeditor@poughkeepsiejournal.com, letters@freemanonline.com, editorial@thehudsonvalleynews.com, newsplace.com-- you have NO idea how effective these are, k?]
[...and-- also important-- after reading all this thru-- email all 25-- countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...]
[and-- see http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=205233122844070 -- don't forget-- this is one of the things we'll be pushing for at our Earth Day Rally for Clean Energy and Green Jobs Now(!)...this Friday Earth Day (Apr. 22nd) at 4 pm in front of our County Office Building at 22 Market Street in Poughkeepsie!]
And so then-- without further ado-- six main "beefs" I have with the MSWC "Draft Executive Summary":
1. FIRST, pages 5 and 6 of this document state-- "It is our understanding that the County can, by passage of a resolution, re-assign the Planning Unit authority from the RRA back to the County. Because the Planning Unit sets the course for waste management in the County, the RRA would be obligated to support the direction set by the Planning Unit. Dutchess County should immediately take steps to designate itself as the Planning Unit if it wants to fully control its destiny."
[...and-- page 13 also again strongly recommends that the following be taken into consideration-- "that the County should pass a resolution to re-assign the Planning Unit status from the RRA to the appropriate organization within Dutchess County"(!)...]
Interesting, right?...recall-- just last month the GOP majority in our Co. Leg. shot down along party lines the Tyner/Doxsey resolution to do exactly this-- to publicly declare that the power to approve/reject the LSWMP belongs rightfully to our County Legislature, if we elected representatives are to take our responsibility seriously on this-- in spite of DEC website-- http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/71265.html -- as former Co. Leg. Attorney David Sears pointed out to us in his Feb. 20 letter to yours truly (see below)...
Important-- this jibes with what we heard at our Apr. 6th Vassar forum from DEC Region 3 Recycling Coordinator Theresa Laibach-- recall-- she publicly confirmed that ultimately it IS, in fact, well within the power and authority of the Dutchess County Legislature to approve or reject the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency's Local Solid Waste Management Plan(!)...[yes, Laibach said this publicly!]...
And-- recall as well-- as Co. Leg. Minority Leader Sandy Goldberg mentioned on the floor during the Apr. 7th Environmental Committee mtg., fact is that MSW Consultants have made it clear they're along about implementing the incredibly flawed Solid Waste Management Plan from DCRRA-- not really about changing it!...(see mtg. for yourself-- http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=dutchess )...
2. SECOND, page 14 of MSWC's "Draft Executive Summary" contains this statement pushing to actually expand incineration in our county, sadly (see below many reasons why not to do this!)-- ""It is also the professional opinion of MSW Consultants that the County can and should enforce existing flow control laws to bring the RRF [Resource Recovery Facility = incinerator] up to capacity from now until 2014."
This, of course, is an echo of what page 2 stated-- that "Specifically, the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency's Local Solid Waste Management Plan (LSWMP) calls for [among other things]:
-- upgrade one of the existing turbines and expanding the RRF [Resource Recovery Facility = incinerator] to add another 250-tons-per-day processing line to accomodate 100 percent of the County's disposed waste stream
-- implementation of a direct revenue mechanism to fund [among other things]...upgrade...the RRF [Resource Recovery Facility = incinerator]...and build reserves for future facilities and projects
-- considering the development of a new ash landfill"[!!!]
3. THIRD, page 6 states-- "In the opinion of MSWC, the decision of waste disposal is between retaining the waste-to-energy system that exists currently or converting to a waste export system." [false choice!!!]
This blithe assertion ignores these 3 key facts on how Dutchess could/should move towards zero waste:
Fact #1: Dutchess County now incinerates or sends to landfills $15 million worth of materials and resources that could be recycled, including plant debris, food waste, paper, wood, ceramics, soils, metals, glass, polymers, textiles, chemicals, and various items for reuse (Richard Anthony Associates).
[see: http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/pubworks/sw-future/docs/resource-assessment.pdf MD like NYS!]
Fact #2: Ten times more jobs could be created by moving towards a zero-waste approach to resource recovery compared to incineration/landfilling, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance; locally this means 500 new jobs could be created right here in Dutchess County if those materials were recycled instead of burned or buried, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance/Rick Anthony.
[see: http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/recyclingmeansbusiness.html ]
Fact #3: The city of Springfield, Mass. has saved $75,000 in just the first half of this year alone by expanding recycling to one-third of the city; it expects to save $450,000 a year through greatly
expanded recycling. ["Springfield Municipal Recycling Initiative To Expand" (WAMC's Paul Tuthill 7/10)
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1679516/news/Municipal.Recycling.Initative.To.Expand ]
4. FOURTH, p. 13 states-- "It isn't unreasonable for Du. Co. to achieve a 50 to 60 percent recycling rate..."
This is pathetic-- and ignores how Nantucket is already at 92% recycling rate; San Francisco at 72% recycling rate; Los Angeles at 64% rate; King County (WA) at 62% rate-- the City of Novarro in Italy actually got to a 70% recycling rate in 18 months(!)...(even Shabazz got Beacon to 70% 20 years ago!).
[see: http://www.no-burn.org/why-incineration-is-a-very-bad-idea-in-the-twenty-first-century ]
Recall, too-- Clearwater, Sierra Club, NYPIRG, EANY, Citizens Environmental Coalition all agree; see http://www.CECToxic.org -- all those groups endorsed 85% recycling rate for Dutchess/NY by 2020!...
[that coalition-- NYS Zero-Waste Alliance-- knows "recycling saves 4x energy that incineration recovers!]
[...see: http://www.cectoxic.org/ZeroWastePlatform2010.html -- DCRRA only pushing for 20% by 2020...]
Fact: The Poughkeepsie Journal reported last March 7th that "the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency recycles only 4 percent of Dutchess' 250,000 tons of garbage; little is done to encourage
recycling in the county; when waste recycled by private haulers is included, the county recycling rate is only 11 percent, about half the state rate, agency figures show; an estimated 30,000 tons of
paper alone go to the trash heap yearly."
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100307/NEWS01/3070352/Critics-rip-agency-as-recycling-falters
5. FIFTH, MSWC's "Draft Executive Summary" ignores, for all intents/purposes, two environmental facts:
Fact: The Poughkeepsie Journal reported March 7th that emissions from our county incinerator of particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxide have all increased over the last
decade-- along with the fact that, on an annual basis, our county incinerator also creates 50,000 tons of toxic ash-- and spews 29 pounds of heavy metals (mercury/arsenic/lead/cadmium), 37 tons of sulfur dioxide, 22 tons of hydrogen chloride/hydrogen fluoride, and 3700 tons of carbon dioxide.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100307/NEWS01/3070350/Burn-plants-seem-cleaner-but-facts-debated
Fact: Dutchess County incinerator in Poughkeepsie spews 3700 tons of carbon emissions yearly.
[ http://www.CARMA.org ; http://www.StopTrashingtheClimate.org ; recall http://www.350.org !]
6. SIXTH-- MSWC's "Draft Executive Summary", frankly, could have hit much harder-- these salient facts:
Fact: "The Dutchess County trash-burning plant needs millions from taxpayers to break even each year, costs 46 percent more to operate than 13 other plants in New York and Connecticut and has debts
stretching beyond all of them." [Poughkeepsie Journal 5/10/09]
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20090510/NEWS01/905100344/Dutchess-County-Resource-Recovery-Agency-Inefficient-expensive-in-debt
Recall this, too, buried on p. 2 in the B (Mid-Hudson) section of Oct. 11th Poughkeepsie Journal from last year: "The DCRRA's deficit, the amount that must be shouldered by county taxpayers, rose from $850,000 a decade ago to more than $6 million last year."
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20101011/REPOSITORY/10110335/Conners-quits-RRA-waste-plan-hearing-is-today
Fact: The cost of disposing of the Dutchess County Incinerator's 50,000 tons of toxic ash annually has doubled in recent years to three million dollars a year, according to Dutchess County Resource
Recovery Agency Board Chair William Conners in a statement he made in Co. Leg. chambers in 2010.
[see: http://www.no-burn.org/why-incineration-is-a-very-bad-idea-in-the-twenty-first-century P. Connett]
Again-- can't be emphasized enough...
Letters to editor needed asap on all this here, folks!...zip 'em out now-- asap-- 250-word missives on all this to letterstoeditor@poughkeepsiejournal.com, letters@freemanonline.com, editorial@thehudsonvalleynews.com, newsplace.com-- you have NO idea how effective these are, k?...
[...and-- also important-- after reading all this thru-- email all 25-- countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...]
Not outraged?...sorry, folks-- you're not payin' attention...
[...and if you've read the six "beefs" above and understand...and agree-- pass 'em on!...]
Joel
444-0599/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
p.s. And again-- if you haven't yet-- join 80+ other county folks signed up for a Zero Waste Dutchess at http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes -- and join 160+ of us on Facebook-- at "Zero Waste Dutchess"!...
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[recall below (last update) sent out on all this originally back on Apr. 8th]
Miccio's wrong-- DCRRA still bent on prolonging/expanding incineration; proof here....
Did anyone else out there find our County Legislature Environmental Chair Jim Miccio's statements during the Environmental Committee meeting last night curious?....(not outraged?...no attention)....
Miccio went out of his way over and over again to say Dutchess is not planning to prolong incineration...
Fact: (as I pointed out during the meeting but got shouted down, natch)-- the truth is that our county Resource Recovery Agency's own Solid Waste Management Plan proves throughout (on pages 5, 59, 76, 80, 84, 93, and 94) that the DCRRA is still quite bent on prolonging and expanding incineration.
[don't believe me?...see http://www.DCRRA.org/reports/LSWMP_12-4-10.pdf for yourself; scroll down]
Feel free to send a message to all of us at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us asking why, folks!...
[go to http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=dutchess to view webcast of Miccio's idiot attacks]
[watch webcast closely-- you can hear Miccio telling me repeatedly "get your head out of your butt"...lol]
Sadly, GOP Co. Leg. majority on Environmental Committee last night shot down Dem caucus proposal drafted by yours truly declaring that our County Legislature DOES have the power to approve, reject, and/or amend our county's Solid Waste Management Plan!...(just as in every single other county in the state, according to DEC Region 3 Recycling Coordinator Terry Laibach-- and recall-- she even stated last night at our forum in Vassar that yes, the Dutchess County Legislature DOES have the right too)...
[see: #2011102-- http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/Legislature/CLagenda.htm ]
As the worm turns...
p.s. As Co. Leg. Minority Leader Sandy Goldberg mentioned last night on the floor during the Environmental Committee mtg., fact is that MSW Consultants have made it clear they're along about implementing incredibly flawed Solid Waste Management Plan from DCRRA-- not really about change!
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From http://www.DCRRA.org/reports/LSWMP_12-4-10.pdf ...(from DCRRA's own website)...
[read below, folks-- proof right here that DCRRA STILL bent on prolonging/expanding incineration!]
County of Dutchess
and
Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency
LOCAL SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT PLAN
November 29, 2010
_______________________________________
Germano & Cahill, P.C. Gerhardt, LLC
Michael J. Cahill, Esq. Hans G. Arnold
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From page 5...
"Optimize Waste-to-Energy - The Agency should commission a thorough study of the condition and life expectancy of the RRF in anticipation of a competitive procurement for a new contract
for operation of the RRF and possible capital improvements after the expiration of the
current operating agreement in June 2014."
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From page 59...
"The current Service Agreement with Covanta Energy (which concluded a stock purchase of the assets of Montenay Dutchess in August 2009) will expire in June 2014, and prior to that date, the DCRRA
will have to procure a new operating contract for the Facility, through competitive
bidding under General Municipal Law §120-w. In preparation for that procurement, the
DCRRA should undertake a full engineering assessment of the condition of the Facility,
and prepare an estimate of the major components and equipment which will need
refurbishment or replacement to assure continued reliable operation for the ensuing 20
to 25 years. Such an assessment will allow the DCRRA to provide for capital
improvements when needed, and will provide prospective bidders for the post-2014
Service Agreement with technical information necessary to submit an informed
proposal."
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From page 76...
"The following summarizes the basis for the projections in Table 13:
2010 the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) [Dutchess County Incinerator] at 92% capacity
2015 the existing RRF at 100% capacity.
2020 the RRF expanded with a third boiler for a total capacity of 199,000 tons per year."
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From page 80...
"The O'Connor rotary waterwall combustor is no longer being manufactured. However
replacement parts for continuous maintenance are available and have been obtained
without difficulty by the facility operator. A review of the performance and condition of
the RRF by HDR Engineers in 2007 found that with appropriate maintenance, the RRF
has a useful life expectancy of more than 20 years.
The O'Connor design has limitations in both power generation and combustion
efficiency when compared to other designs in use in the United States and in Europe.
As noted, the RRF has consistently provided approximately 315 KWh/ton of electric power for export. Other boiler designs in use today can combust larger quantities of MSW and generate up to 650 KWh/ton with optimal MSW feedstock in terms of BTU value and consistency."
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From page 84...
"The RRF has not been expanded as originally planned for, and continues to process
only about two-thirds of the non-recyclable fraction of the municipal waste stream.
In 2009 the Agency received 150,641 tons of MSW for processing at the RRF. This
means that approximately 99,359 tons of MSW generated in Dutchess County was
taken to disposal facilities outside the County for disposal.
Similarly, the MRF is undersized and processes only a portion of the County's recyclables...the Agency should consider an increase in the capacity of the RRF to reduce the amount of material transported to
distant landfills."
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From page 93...
"In order to extend the useful life of the waste-to-energy facility through 2030 and
beyond, a detailed analysis of the facility and an estimate of the capital expenditures
that would be needed at various points over the next 20 years of operations in order to
continue satisfactory performance should be performed."
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From page 94...
"Some immediate and long term improvements to the RRF can be made in
order to increase efficiency without increasing the Facility's current throughput.
Currently, WTE Facility expansions are being planned or constructed at Lee County,
Florida; Hillsborough County, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii; York, Pennsylvania; Olmsted,
Minnesota; Hempstead, New York; Islip, New York and Harford County, Maryland. The
size and costs of these expansions vary. Comparisons of costs per ton of new capacity
reveal a wide range of variation, reflecting differences in design, site restrictions and
other local conditions. In general, the costs are significant. Examples are $193,000.00
per design ton at Lee County, Florida to $233,000.00 per design ton at Hillsborough
County Florida, both of which are approximately 700 tpd expansions currently under
construction. In New York, neither Covanta Energy Hempstead nor the Islip Resource
Recovery Agency has publicly announced costs for the expansions of their respective
facilities. Studies performed for the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste
Authority (MOSA) have estimated costs at $225,000.00 per design/ton. We have no
reason to believe that costs for an expansion of the Dutchess RRF would be different.
The absence of a local ash landfill owned by the DCRRA means that the County
continues to depend on competitive bids for the transport and disposal of ash residue at
landfills outside the County, and in fact, at significant distance from the County."
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[...and let's not forget this from page 95-- "Ideally, the County would have its own ash landfill. Although it might be equal in cost to the current cost of export, it would stabilize costs over the long term and eliminate the risk of price hikes due to fuel increases and a constriction in disposal capacity..."(!)...]
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[recall below sent out on all this yesterday morning]
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Recall this (originally posted to this list Feb. 20) from [former County Legislature Attorney]: David Sears
To: Joel Tyner joeltyner@earthlink.net
Joel, The County is the planning unit and even DEC Regs require the Legs approval and either a EIS for adoption or a negative declaration. This is clearly "cover" to continue to distance themselves from the mis-managed RRA.
From the NYSDEC's own website [see http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/71265.html ]
"LSWMP Formal Approval Process
This page describes some of the procedures involved in DEC approval of a Local Solid Waste Management Plan (LSWMP). More details on these procedures can be found in 6 NYCRR Section 360-15.10.
All LSWMPs must be submitted to DEC in draft for approval.
DEC reviews the draft LSWMP to determine whether it effectively addresses all matters required by 6 NYCRR 360-15.9
If it does not, DEC will specify the matters in which the draft LSWMP is deficient (review letter). The Draft LSWMP must be revised based on DEC comments. It is possible that more than one round of comments and revisions may occur to the LSWMP document.
Once DEC determines that the draft LSWMP is a substantive consideration of the elements in 360-15.9, DEC provides notice to the Local Planning Unit of its intent to approve the LSWMP. This notice is colloquially known as the "approvable letter".
DEC recommends that the Local Planning Unit conduct the Public Comment period after receipt of the "Approvable Letter" from DEC. This sequence serves to avoid the potential for needing two Public Comment Periods, once for the Draft and once for the Final LSWMP, if significant changes are made after DEC review. The same recommendation applies to the resolution from the Governing Board, described below.
The Approvable Letter indicates that the Local Planning Unit must submit to DEC:
A Final stand-alone LSWMP
A Resolution of adoption of the LSWMP from the Local Planning Unit's Legislative Board.
An EIS for the adoption of the LSWMP, SEQR findings statement --OR- negative declaration
Once DEC determines that the Final LSWMP, adopting resolution, and SEQR findings statement or Negative Declaration are complete and acceptable, DEC approves the LSWMP. This notice is colloquially known as the "Final Approval Letter."
The approved LSWMP becomes the LSWMP in effect for the Local Planning Unit."
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Thx tons to everyone who came out Apr. 6th to our Vassar & Rhinebeck zero-waste forums:
Expert speakers who presented to us last night:
-- Neil Seldman, Pres. of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
-- Shabazz Jackson, Founder of Greenway Environmental Services (along with Josephine Papagni)
-- Barbara Warren, Exec. Dir. of Citizens Environmental Coalition and NYS Zero-Waste Alliance(!)
-- Nadine Souto of Vassar RePower(also there tonite-- Luke Leavitt and Ethan Buckner)
[thx also to Rhinebeck Village Boardmember Howie Traudt & Rhinebeck's Gary Kenton for comin' too!]
We're off to a great start-- check out everyone who signed on to our new 85% by 2020 recycling goal(!):
[referring to recycling rate for Dutchess/NYS-- Clearwater, Sierra Club, NYPIRG, EANY, CEC agree; see http://www.CECToxic.org all those groups have endorsed 85% recycling rate for Dutchess/NY by 2020!]
So-- without any further ado then-- new 85% by 2020 endorsers include the following:
[pls let us know if we can add you to this list, k?...(and feel free to spread word of this far 'n wide to all!)]
[letters to editor needed to newspapers; email all 25 of us at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us too!]
-- former Co. Leg. Bill McCabe
-- Norene Coller (former Dutchess County EMC Chair) and Dick Coller
-- James Constantino of Millbrook (general counsel for Royal Carting!)
-- Ken and Janet Kraft of Poughkeepsie's Krafted Kup
-- Luke Leavitt of Vassar RePower
-- Jolanda Jansen, P.E. of Poughkeepsie
-- Larry Freedman of Clinton
-- Todd Dutt and Jessica Bennett of Clinton
-- Judy Malstrom of Clinton
-- Marcia Slatkin of Rhinebeck
-- Cynthia Philip of Rhinebeck
-- Bob and Shirley Burroughs of Rhinebeck
-- John McDonald of Rhinebeck
-- Vane Lashua of Beacon
-- Bill Costine of Beacon
-- Sarah Womer of Beacon
-- Paul Kelly of Red Hook
-- Jillian Egan of Poughkeepsie
-- Stephanie LaRose of Poughkeepsie
-- Frank Van Zanten of Poughkeepsie
-- Ralph Pollard of Poughkeepsie
-- Earl Brown of Poughkeepsie
-- Carlos Leos of Poughkeepsie
-- Susan Randolph of Poughkeepsie
-- James Mezzando of Poughkeepsie
-- Michael Lavacca of Poughkeepsie
-- Laura Smith of Poughkeepsie
-- Mary Nisery of Poughkeepsie
-- Rich Carlson of Wappinger
-- Lisa Jones of Tivoli
-- Kit Stebbins and Matthew Wilk of Marist
-- Ellen Xie and Zoe Stern of Vassar
[note, too-- join Luke Leavitt, Nadine Souto, Ethan Buckner et. al. for weekly Vassar RePower Zero-Waste Working Group mtg.'s Mondays 7-8 pm in Vassar Library Seminar room (124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie NY 12604); for more info contact (404) 291-9703 or luleavitt@vassar.edu!]
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[again-- resolution here below we tried to pass last month; email countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!]
Environment
Resolution No. 2011102
RE: DUTCHESS COUNTY LEGISLATURE DECLARES THAT IT HAS THE POWER TO APPROVE, REJECT, AND/OR AMEND THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR DUTCHESS COUNTY
Legislator TYNER, DOXSEY, GOLDBERG, KUFFNER, and WHITE offer the following and move its adoption:
WHEREAS, the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency has the highest per-ton processing cost of 14 trash-burning plants in the area at about 50% higher than average-- with high debt, increasing costs and no-bid contracts ; Dutchess County taxpayers' subsidy has more than doubled over the last decade, and
WHEREAS, Dutchess County's Solid Waste Management Plan was due at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the end of last December, and
WHEREAS, unfortunately the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency's hired consultants Germano & Cahill have proposed a Solid Waste Management Plan that promotes extending and expanding incineration in Dutchess County indefinitely, and
WHEREAS, it is within the legal right of the Dutchess County Legislature to have the power to vote to approve, reject, and/or amend the Solid Waste Management Plan for Dutchess County; given all the problems at the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency, anything less than our County Legislature assuming this power is an abdication of the responsibility to properly manage solid waste in Dutchess County, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature has the power to approve, reject, and/or amend the Solid Waste Management Plan for Dutchess County, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus, Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency Executive Director William Calogero, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3 Director Willie Janeway.
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Recall.....
From Neil S.: "these are the zero waste/resource management plans ILSR has assisted with in the US.:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/zerowaste_masterplan.htm -- zero waste plan Austin, TX
http://compostingconsultant.com/images2/hawaii-zero-waste-plan.pdf -- zero waste plan for Hawaii Co.
http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/LGCentral/Library/infoCycling/2001/Winter/DelNorte.htm -- zero DelNorte
http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/delaware-resource-management.pdf : Resource Management in Delaware.
[also see: http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/links.html ; http://www.ilsr.org/pubs/2010yearendreport.pdf ;
Neil S."Wasted Energy: Debunking Waste-to-Energy Scheme" http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4315 ]
Fact: Shabazz for years now has taken all of the food waste from Vassar, Marist, and SUNY New Paltz and mixed it with yard waste-- and just over the past year has gotten the GOP-led Poughkeepsie Town Board (and Dem Town Supervisor there Pat Myers) to vote unanimously to allow Shabazz to expand food-waste composting operation he's run for years at Vassar Farms to 70 acres on DeGarmo Rd.(!).
[this is clear example for Rhinebeck and all of our municipalities; organics make up half wastestream]
[see "Case for Composting" 3/22/10 Boston Globe http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=5692 !]
Fact: The woody waste and other yard waste (leaves/grass) sitting in piles at the Rhinebeck Town Dump (on Stone Church Rd.) is the PERFECT material that Shabazz has proven can be mixed with food waste to make valuable compost and biofiltration soils to spec!...(Shabazz and I have seen this).
[here in Dutchess, Royal Carting tried 177-home food-waste collection pilot program in Beacon]
[see below-- Massachusetts Municipal Association ( http://www.MMA.org ) Associate Editor Mitch Evich last May 5th ran an article about the successful curbside collection of food waste in the towns of Hamilton and Wenham-- referring to how "organic waste accounts for roughly 40 percent of the solid waste that the typical household generates (about 10-12 pounds out of 27 pounds per week)": savings!]
Recall the front-page article about Shabazz in the Poughkeepsie Journal April 3, 2008 on great food-waste composting operation in Poughkeepsie using materials from Vassar and Marist to produce extremely valuable compost in high demand at non-odor facility (Vassar Farm); see:
http://groups.google.com/group/planputnam/msg/bb0dd1fd8ca9441a ; http://greenwayny.com/beta/about/?id=bio ; http://www.recycle.net/trade/aa945288.html ;
http://www.grn.com/trade/aa945288.html ; http://nysawg.org/news.php?id=40 .
Remember, too-- even back in '09 I succeeded in convincing Northern Dutchess Hospital, Baptist Home at Brookmeade, and folks from Fairgrounds and the Rhinebeck Central School District to all endorse the notion of moving Rhinebeck towards zero waste-- saving $$$ with food waste collection (remember Northern Dutchess News article on all this from summer of '09; other local media ignored this-- why?)...
[see: http://www.elementalimpact.org/ZWZDowntownAtlanta -- Atlanta is great example for Dutchess; many restaurants, entertainment and convention centers there saving money separating food waste!]
The City of Toronto has proven for years now that it actually saves tax dollars to have businesses and homeowners separate their food waste for weekly curbside collection-- because now, as a result of this, they only have to have their garbage collected once every other week(!)...why can't we do this here?...
[see: http://www.toronto.ca/greenbin/card.htm ]
Fact: Incinerator folks don't even want food waste; it's highly inefficient to burn (over 70% water; see http://www.Cool2012.com ).
Fact: Ithaca, Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Cambridge, and communities across Vermont, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, California have smartly moved towards zero waste with food-waste composting
[ http://www.cool2012.com/community/collection/ http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/000525.html ;
http://www.recycletompkins.org/editorstree/view/177 ; http://ccetompkins.org/compost/index.html ]
Note-- thanks to Rhinebeck residents Marcia Slatkin, Dan Maciejac, Paul Antonell, Margaret De Wys, Vivian Mandala, Nicholas O'Connor, Michael West, and Chris Winham for bein' part of the 86 folks signed on to my http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes effort-- to make sure that recycling receptacless are placed next to all garbage bins in county-- help launch http://www.petitiononline.com/rbckrecy too;
how long will it be before brown metal garbage baskets in village have recycling containers near 'em?...
[note: Village of Millbrook has recycling containers next to all its garbage receptacles on the sidewalks-- why can't we do this in Rhinebeck, all over?...see: http://www.virtualhudsonvalley.com/events/?p=141 ]
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[recall below originally sent out to this list Feb. 20th on all this]
re: RRA GOP Co. Leg. capitulates to Steinhaus; "new" SWMP to be same as old SWMP!...
Recently I attended the latest meeting of the so-called "Resource Recovery Reform" Committee in our County Legislature, with John Culverton and Rich Schlauder of Mid-Atlantic Solid Waste Consultants (MSWC) there updating us all on their work...
Crucial-- Culverton and Schlauder told us recently that MSWC "is not doing a parallel plan; not recreating; just expanding with details Resource Recovery Agency's Solid Waste Management Plan(!)...
[read that one over again, folks!!!]
Yep-- 'tis true-- Culverton and Schlauder assured us their (RRA's) plans would be for a so-called "user fee" or "service charge"-- "a logical formula that assumes roughly what they [each property in the county] generate"...
Wake up, folks-- this is the property tax Akeley/Steinhaus proposed two years ago to fund RRA waste!...
[...and-- just as important-- is NOT PAYT-- "user fee" would bear NO relation to how much you recycle!]
Why are Co. Leg. GOP capitulating to Steinhaus/RRA on all this?...methinx it just might be, among other things, fact that Steinhaus made MSWC wait weeks to receive signed contract-- tho funds donated from Dyson Foundation last year-- note, too-- $30,000 is still left from $90,000 donated from Dyson-- we need help from you all in grass roots to push for at least SOME of that $30,000 to be spent on a zero-waste expert like Neil Seldman of http://www.ILSR.org !...
[...of course legalized kickbacks for years from Royal Carting, HDR Engineering not pertinent-- not!...]
[see/sign http://www.petitiononline.com/cleangov for much much more re: legalized kickbacks in county]
Wake up, folks-- email all 25 of us NOW-- at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us on all this...
86 Dutchess folks signed on so far to our http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes -- we need you active!...
Note as well-- Culverton/Schlauder also, incredibly, stated at this last meeting that "you [Dutchess County] have to have something-- whether it's an incinerator or a landfill" (a false choice)-- and falsely
asserted to us as well that "there are costs to expanding recycling"(!)...
[letters to editor needed too-- to letterstoeditor@poughkeepsiejournal.com, letters@freemanonline.com, newsplace@aol.com, editorial@thehudsonvalleynews.com!]
Recall this article from Poughkeepsie Journal Oct. 18th 2009 re: GOP for new property tax for $ for RRA:
"The Journal's findings come at a critical juncture for the management of trash in Dutchess. A task force appointed by the Democrat-controlled county Legislature concluded recently that the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency was mismanaged and said its multi-million-dollar annual subsidy-- and possibly the trash agency itself-- should be eliminated.
The agency countered with its own report advocating a new property tax to support operations, an expanded burn plant, and most significantly, the adoption of a "flow control" law that would put the agency in charge of all 250,000 tons of waste produced in the county, in addition to the 150,000 tons processed at the burn plant."
[from "No License? No Problem for Trash Haulers; County Enforcement Lax" by Mary Beth Pfeiffer]
...but that's not all folks...(scroll down just a bit for much, much more on this!)....
This past Monday (Feb. 14th) learned after meeting with former Dutchess County Legislature Attorney David Sears that, contrary to Co. Leg. Chair Rolison's statements to the contrary at the end of last Thursday, the fact is that even the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's own website clearly states that it is necessary for the Dutchess County Legislature to approve the Solid Waste Management Plan for Dutchess County(!)...(kudos to Minority Leader Goldberg for leading line of questioning on this last week)...
See below-- specifically, the DEC website itself states that "A Resolution of adoption of the LSWMP [Local Solid Waste Management Plan] from the Local Planning Unit's Legislative Board [County Legislature]"(!)...
But again-- more re: above-- recall this one as well-- from Poughkeepsie Journal Nov. 14, 2009:
[more from PoJo on GOP drive for years now for new property tax ("green fee") to subsidize RRA waste]
"Steinhaus Proposes Solid Waste User Fee"
Under a plan by Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus, businesses and homeowners would be charged a new solid waste user fee to help pay for the operating costs of the county Resource Recovery Agency he defunded in his 2010 budget proposal.
Steinhaus left it to the Legislature to set the fee. The solid waste user fee would replace the annual net service fee the county pays to the agency out of its budget, acting Solid Waste Management Commissioner Roger Akeley said in a memo to legislators.
Residential units would pay a standard fee per household unit, while property owners who generate more waste would pay a higher fee per square foot based on the volume of waste generated, Akeley said. Vacant properties that don't have waste would not be charged.
Legislator Joel Tyner, D-Clinton, who headed the Green Ribbon Task Force on Solid Waste Management, had concerns about the user fee.
"I'm afraid homeowners and taxpayers are going to be forced to subsidize the waste at the Resource Recovery Agency without the real problem being solved," Tyner said.
Tyner cited Poughkeepsie Journal investigations that documented the agency has the highest per-ton processing cost of 14 trash-burning plants in the region, at 46 percent higher than the average. An ongoing Journal investigation has found heavy debt, higher costs and no-bid contracts at the agency.
Steinhaus' proposal did not specify the amount of the fee. But in his 2010 budget plan he did not fund the agency, which had sought $6.3 million for next year. The subsidy has grown 250 percent since 2001.
Again-- check out this startling info I posted 2/14 to http://www.DutchessDemocracy.blogspot.com :
This past Monday (Feb. 14th) learned after meeting with former Dutchess County Legislature Attorney David Sears that, contrary to Co. Leg. Chair Rolison's statements to the contrary at the end of last Thursday, the fact is that even the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's own website clearly states that it is necessary for the Dutchess County Legislature to approve the Solid Waste Management Plan for Dutchess County(!)...(kudos to Minority Leader Goldberg for leading line of questioning on this last week)...
See below-- specifically, the DEC website itself states that "A Resolution of adoption of the LSWMP [Local Solid Waste Management Plan] from the Local Planning Unit's Legislative Board [County Legislature]"(!)...
Fact: This is completely contrary to Co. Leg. Chair Rolison's statements at end of last Thursday's County Legislature Environmental Committee meeting (Feb. 10th).
[go to http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=dutchess to view webcast of this for yourself!]
Note: Interestingly enough, just a few years ago when there was a Democratic majority in our County Legislature, Rolison himself was invited to meet with DEC officials, along with Dems like Roger Higgins, Fred Knapp, et. al.; strangely enough, a number of meetings with the DEC seem to have taken place with no representation whatsoever from the Democratic Caucus of our County Legislature...
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